Govt to ensure extension support for cotton farmers

improved seeds from Cotton Research Institute and professional supervision through the Agricultural Marketing Authority to boost productivity.
Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made, said this in a statement read on his behalf by the Acting Principal Director Livestock and Veterinary Services, Mr William Shereni at the Quton Field day and re-branding launch in Kadoma last Friday.
Minister Made said the fact that cotton prices had remained firm on the international market was a boost for the farmers.
“Ginners must pass on the benefits to the cotton farmers in the form of better prices for cotton deliveries to ensure viability,” he said.
Quton managing director, Mr Edward Mhandu, said the resurgent world cotton price would help boost farmers’ earnings.He expressed confidence that demand for cotton would remain strong the world over.
Mr Mhandu said Quton Company had enough seed for next season and had put in place measures to ensure an efficient and effective supply system of the commodity to all cotton growing areas of the country. Mhandu revealed that Quton had achieved record planting sales of 11 000 tonnes last summer and had also broadened its scope to 15 other African countries.
Quton board chairman, Mr Morgan Nzwere, also added that his company was now doing business in countries such as Zambia, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, Botswana, Swaziland and Malawi.
“I am pleased to announce that Quton has entered into a seven year seed multiplication agreement with the government of Tanzania. This will see Quton producing the entire cotton planting seed for Tanzania within the next seven years,” he said.
Mr Nzwere added that their product performed exceptionally well this past season in Malawi, Swaziland and Mozambique. Minister Made commended Quton’s aggressive international business drive.
“This is an extraordinary achievement by a Zimbabwean agricultural business. I am also aware that Quton last year exported significant cotton planting seed to Malawi, Swaziland and Mozambique.
“In those countries the performance of the seed was outstanding in terms of germination, purity and resistance to diseases and drought tolerance. In lower Shire Malawi, the smallholder farmers renamed the seed variety ‘Zimbabwe’,” he said.
He said that in Swaziland, farmers after observing the resilience and better performance of the seed varieties against others chose to rename it after President Mugabe.
Zimbabwe is the only country in Africa that has recorded growth in cotton production over the past 10 years, Minister Made said.
“The cotton sector in Zimbabwe has continued to grow despite the challenges that the whole agricultural fraternity has experienced, droughts, shortage of inputs and other constraints.
“Quton has chosen this day to unveil their new logo. This is in line with their international business drive as well as alignment with their parent company, Seed Co. Quton is a subsidiary of Seed Co,” he said.